{"id":510741,"date":"2025-10-19T01:08:28","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T01:08:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/510741\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T01:08:28","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T01:08:28","slug":"ruben-amorim-comments-on-two-man-united-players-with-uncertain-futures-they-want-to-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/510741\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruben Amorim comments on two Man United players with uncertain futures – ‘They want to play’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee have not started in the Premier League for Manchester United so far this season.Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee are struggling for minutes.(Image: 2025 Marc Atkins)<\/p>\n

Manchester United<\/a> boss Ruben Amorim reiterated Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee are “our players and we need everyone to have a good season” amid speculation over their futures.<\/p>\n

Mainoo requested to leave on loan in the final week of the summer transfer window, but his request was blocked and Amorim said he must compete with Bruno Fernandes to start.<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old has not started in the Premier League<\/a> this season and has been limited to five substitute appearances. Mainoo is desperate to represent England at the 2026 World Cup after featuring at Euro 2024, but he needs to be playing regularly to be included in Thomas Tuchel’s plans.<\/p>\n

Zirkzee finds himself in a similar situation. The Dutchman is keen to represent the Netherlands at next summer’s World Cup, but he’s been given just 82 minutes across all competitions.<\/p>\n

Mainoo continues to be linked with a move away in the January transfer window and Zirkzee could look to leave if his situation does not improve, but Amorim suggested they are important squad players.<\/p>\n

Amorim was asked whether he understood why Mainoo and Zirkzee would be frustrated, especially in a World Cup season, and he responded: “That is normal. I also know that in our club everything is a lot of noise. You have to have news. Players are not playing. They want to play.<\/p>\n

“Like you said, there’s a World Cup. There are agents that listen to the players talking all the time. So I understand that, but they are our players and we need everyone to have a good season.”<\/p>\n

Amorim has challenged Mainoo to fight for his place and he provided detailed thoughts on the youngster when he spoke at a press conference ahead of the Manchester derby.<\/p>\n

“No, like a lot of guys, he wants to play more,” said Amorim when asked whether he’d seen a difference in Mainoo. “I didn\u2019t have a conversation with him before the window closed – I did this week.<\/p>\n

“Because I don’t want Kobbie Mainoo thinking that I was having any conversation with him just to hold on to him. I don’t want that feeling. I believe a lot in Kobbie, but some of you think that Kobbie Mainoo is already done (the finished article). I think he can do so much better, he can improve in a lot.<\/p>\n

“I think for some guys it is enough (their talent), but for him it is not enough. Maybe it\u2019s not fair, but I think I’m helping Kobbie Mainoo, and that\u2019s it. He will have opportunities like the other guys.<\/p>\n

“If I feel during the week that someone is the best player to play, then he is going to play. And that I proved already to every player here. So I believe in him a lot… I have the same thing that you have: that he is a top, top player, but he can be so much better. So I’m focused on that.”<\/p>\n

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And finally, if you\u2019d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Manchester is Red podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify<\/a><\/strong> and Apple Podcasts<\/a><\/strong>, and you can also watch along on YouTube<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee have not started in the Premier League for Manchester United so far this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":510742,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,423,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-510741","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-manchester-united-fc","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115398161639522665","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=510741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/510742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=510741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=510741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=510741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}